1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a video image processing apparatus and a video image processing method that receive video content and meta data and perform processing for viewing content.
2. Description of the Related Art
Currently, for content to be transmitted using a broadcast wave or the like, not only video/sound data but also various meta data serving as the additional information have been added. Also, for content data stored in a storage medium such as DVD or the like, various utilization forms for the additional information have been contemplated. In the future, the use of further detailed additional information will be expected, and thus an improvement in convenience is anticipated.
While there are many methods for applying additional information, various technologies in which the additional information is presented to users to make them readily grasp information content, persons, and the like for the content to thereby support viewing have been proposed. Hereinafter, the components constituting a video image, for example, characters such as persons or the like and items such as chairs, buildings, and the like are referred to as “objects”. A technology has been known for receiving video sound content and meta data including relevant information associated with the playback time of the content to thereby play back video sound content as well as display relevant information corresponding to the playback time (see Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2009-65712).
In this prior art, relevant information associated with a program and a scene is presented to a viewer in a timing specified by a receiver. However, the conventional technology does not control the timing for presenting relevant information about an object based on the display state of the object appearing on a video image.
For example, when a person of interest is displayed on a screen in a reduced size, or when many other persons are displayed on a screen, relevant information about the persons needs to be presented to a viewer at an appropriate timing. Otherwise, a situation may occur such that a viewer has difficulty understanding the fact that the presented relevant information relates to which person.
Accordingly, the present invention provides a video image processing apparatus and a video image processing method that are capable of presenting relevant information about an object to a viewer in an appropriate timing based on the display state of the object that appears on a video image.